LONDON, January 14, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Roman Catholic bishop of London Ontario, Ronald P. Fabbro, has asked his flock to begin lobbying their MP’s against the proposal to change the definition of marriage to include homosexual partnerings.
“I ask you to take an active role in defending the traditional meaning of marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” Fabbro wrote in a letter dated January 5th. “As Catholics, we have a duty to make our voices heard in the public realm. These are momentous and far-reaching decisions that are being made. Your members of Parliament need to hear from you. They need to know what you consider to be for the good of future generations.” Sarnia-Lambton MP, Roger Gallaway said of the Catholic lobbying effort, “This is huge and I don’t think all of the intellectual people in the prime minister’s office are expecting this.” Bishop Fabbro said in an interview that one of the many reasons to oppose the equating of homosexuality with true marriage is the decline in the birth rate. “The birth rate is falling in Canada. It’s low here. This new definition of marriage would make children an optional part of that and that’s a big concern,” he said.
In Canada, the birth rate has been declining steadily for about the same time that divorce, abortion and contraception have been legal. To maintain a steady population and work force, Canada relies heavily on immigration, but this results in an aging population demographic.
Pro-life activists have been joined recently by demographers who warn that this world-wide trend is an economic disaster waiting to happen. Fabbro said that the institution of homosexual “marriage” is a move toward “an experiment of social engineering which we don’t know the consequences of and risking to further undermine (traditional marriage).” The page on which Bishop Fabbro’s message appears on the diocesan website includes links to suggested sample letters and the Parliamentary website where names and addresses of MP’s can be found. To read Bishop Fabbro’s message: https://www.rcec.london.on.ca/CalltoActionMarriage/MarriageDefinitionLetterToFaithful.htm hw